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Sunday, March 27, 2011

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Ah, Austin. That sweet, funky town in the middle of a state that yearns for my death. I can actually feel its beady little state eyes glaring at me from here, waiting for me to fly over its borders so it can shoot down my plane with its state death ray. Or maybe make my spleen burst. Or - OR - maybe I'll just choke on a Texas peanut. But, I digress.

So, apparently, there's this "cake show" in Austin where bakers make cakes and show them. Which is why it's called a "cake show." And apparently, many of these cakes are freaking awesome. Let's take a look, shall we?

Because, if you remember from up there ^, yellow is my favorite color!

Those elephants look so life-like! Like they're about to trample me.

Clearly, they come from dysfunctional families.

Or they're from Texas.

A special thanks to our Texas liaison, Kimberly Chapman. And hey, maybe next year Jen and I will be able to attend the show! (They rent out the Popemobile, right?)

Have a Sweet to nominate? Then send it to Sunday Sweets [at] Cake Wrecks [dot] com.

Several of the above photographs courtesy of Lynn Moore of Flip Images.

Quick update: Thanks for the great comments today guys. For the record, Jen and I both agree that Texans are some of the kindest, most awesome people we have met. However, I've been to Alamo, Houston, Amarillo, Dallas and Austin and been sick, injured or hospitalized every time. But maybe it's just me... -j

Clearly the concept of "Don't Mess with Texas" is completely lost on some. They say that's just an anti-litter campaign, but we know better.

Some of these totally fit Austin's unofficial motto of "Keep Austin Weird." I'm not saying they're not great, but some of them are kinda weird, especially the death cake and the 'shroom cake, which totally befits Austin! The angry bird and green beheaded zombie pigs cake is nice, but, huh?

The African wildlife cake is amazing!

WV: prostectProstect endangered species, like people who can make beautiful cakes. And people who don't have the self-preservation instinct not to dis Texas.

Oh, please, john (hubby of JEN), don't pull the comments. I'm planning to pop some popcorn and sit down for an hour of enjoyable reading this afternoon. Can't wait for the Texans to rise up in anger today! Do I smell EPCOT?

hahaha, this is so cute!! I read this blog pretty much every day and my favorites are the Sunday Sweets.(btw, Wolverine is Canadian, not Texan.)And, coming from a Texan, I loved today's post ;3 quite fun ^^

Having lived in Texas, I believe I'm qualified to 1)grant you permission to joke about it and 2)agree that it has the potential of killing folks. But then, I lived in Houston. I'm sure Austin is a lovely place. Love Sunday Sweets - inspirational!

First off, those cakes are all gorgeous! I'm pretty sure there is now a bruise on the bottom of my jaw, from it hitting the floor so many times. Also, what is it with bloggers, and near death experiences here?

As a resident of Houston, I would like to reassure you that not everyone in Texas is trying to kill you. At least, not the three people who live in my house. Probably not my parents either. :) We love you here in TX!!! (Really!) Trish

I was born and raised in Austin, Texas and have discovered I am incapable of surviving outside its borders. So, I think we natives develop a certain immunity to our state's potency. (And Zombies have been known to randomly wander these parts. Highway 290 was infested last Spring.) Also, the Angry Birds cake was so fun I squealed. Alyssa

These cakes are AMAZING! I love the first, wolverine, and angry birds, but the safari cake really takes my breath away! WOW. (It would be such a shame to lose this post to sensitive texans and comment wars--these cakes are just too good!) And well, I found the commentary amusing :)

I saw the first cake at the Oklahoma Sugar Art show in Tulsa last year. I didn't think they were allowed to re-enter cakes in different competitions. And lemme tell ya - it's even more gorgeous in person! The detail is really incredible, the pictures don't do it justice.

Hey, I'm in DFW where I recall you were hospitalized. I couldn't stop laughing at this post. And, to the commenter mentioning knives, uhm, as far as my experience, we're a gun-totin' society. Knifing is for the outsiders wanting to be Texan. ;-)

Come back john (the hubby of JEN). We won't try to kill you this time, promise. *sweet, innocent grin*

Texas tried to kill my husband too. We got doused with water and then got on one of the hyper air-conditioned buses on the way to the Alamo and my husband was wracked with chills and a 24 hour death flu. Loved the Day of the Dead cake.

The first cake is actually a copy of an illustration from a children's book. I LOVED the book as a little kid--if i remember correctly, it is about a princess and some sort of magic koi. Whatever the plot, the illustrations were phenominal, so i'm sorry to say that this cake does not do it justice...

okay, look, Texas does not want to kill you! Texas LOVES you! you just have to let Austin have its way. when entering Austin I have found ( I'm from San Antonio) that you must be ONE with the city .... this involves Cajun bloody marys on 6th street, shots of really good Tequila, or just get too it and eat a raw pepper. your MoJoe will be good to go in no time. don't fear the pepper for it will protect you. if you do two out of three you will be very safe for no germs would dare enter your body.... but remember in Texas it's a fine line. if you do all three, well, then its too much, and you will end up in jail... of course that would be kinda of fun to hear about on your blog......Pam, San Antonio is a whole different thing, Ramirez

Sorry, John-the-hubby-of-Jen, but I've gone to Houston several times from Orlando and TX never tried to kill me so I think it's just you (glad you haven't held a grudge, though). I have no trouble believing TX has a state death ray, though. It's just a big gun, after all.

I loved the black cake as it was striking but I can see why that puts some people off.

First, the mushrooms are COOKIES! I didn't even know that could be done with cookies! Amazing skill!

Second, Come back and visit Texas again! The bonk on the head was Texas' way of saying "Stop for a bit and go get checked out...you've got something really wrong with ya." You've been looking at it all wrong. Texas <3's you!

It says something about what a fan I am of this blog that I'm more giddy at you calling me your liaison than including my cake! Okay I'm pretty giddy at both, but...*squee*

You do know next year's theme is Renaissance, right?

I'm a poor Canuck living here and it hasn't killed me yet. OMG with the allergies today, kind of wish a zombie would come eat my eyes so they'd stop itching so bad, but I'm not actually dead.

If you come to next year's show I promise we won't let Texas kill you. The show will fawn over you like the cakey celebrities that you are. I will personally ensure it! Or come start building up the immunity at our Day of Sharing in July. I'm teaching gummy!

Either way, you have to come to the next show. Did I mention: RENAISSANCE! Chris Wingler and I have already promised each other to dress up. YOU MUST COME.

WV: walizin: You can come a'walizin Matilda with my Aussie hubby who has survived living in Texas twice. Mostly.

These cakes are breathtaking.. I have to agree with you about Texas trying to kill people. My husband planned a fishing trip to Lake Fork, TX for over a year. He came home with what had to be a mix of Anthrax/Whooping Cough/Smallpox/Athlete's Foot. In spite of that, he plans to go back next spring!

What a treat to find the Austin cake show for the Sunday Sweets - very kind and brave after your experience here in TX. I went to the show on a whim and am very glad I did. There were so many amazing cakes that weren't posted. I wish there was a "like" button to the comments like on FB...Zombies on 290...hehehe....

I love this post and I really love knowing the backstory (!) but, hey! y'all come back to Texas! More specifically, come back to Austin! We'll form a special protection squad for you and keep you safe and healthy. Third time's the charm? Besides, we've got some awesome cakeness here obviously...and a really close by RenFest...and a con or two and many, many geeks. Geeks who were totally deprived of your Austin appearance by the extremely unfortunate circumstances that caused your schedule change! So come on back and stay a bit - we do have computer connectivity here (giggle).

Liked the cakes. Didn't like the Texas jokes.If they were funny or witty jokes about Texas I'd have appreciated them, but they weren't. Kind of pointless and completely unnecessary. I still like your site, but I lose respect for people that stereotype a place they didn't go to.

Not to scare you further but my darling Fiance- who claims to be a Texan- has managed to not only crack his skull open (and leak out cerebral-spinal fluid) but also to contract West Nile... while in Texas. I can't wait to leave this state. The whole Texas ego thing got old really fast- like a week after I moved here (3 years ago).

I will say that our baker is amazing, and a Texan- so the state isn't completely horrible.

Please come back to Texas, Jen and John (the Hubby of JEN)! We'd love to have you back for a tour. As you can see, we have fantastic cake makers, and we'll gladly provide a running barricade of Texan CW fans armed with disinfectants (and cupcakes) to keep you safe!

I hope the next time you come to Texas it treats you like it treats most people. We're really not so hostile an environment as you experienced (though we don't seem to value education and childcare at the moment...but I digress...).

As an Austinite, a 4th generation Texan and daily reader of CW I propose that if you almost die in a state you get a temporary citizenship that entitles you to say whatever you want about said state for one decade per doctor you had to consult. I got food poisoning at a certain steak house and maintain that all those from down under are plotting my demise.

Hey, don't forget Orlando was just honored as the "Most Dangerous Spring Break Destination" in the country. Probably by a bunch of Texans ;) We're glad Jon's still alive and well in spite of Texas, and the Sweets today were phenomenal!

OMFG!!!! Freakin AMAZING!!! by far my favourite sunday sweets, they were amazing couldn't pick which i liked best ... all i can say is ... THAT'S A CAKE??? THAT SHOULD BE IN A FREAKIN ART MUSEUM ... ALL OF THEM!!!!

Hey! You're not supposed to tell people about our zombie hordes, those are a surprise. ;) And love that calavera cake! When I finally get my pretty princess wedding (we got married in my parents' backyard, yes in DEEP South Texas. My dad smoked ribs for our dinner, it was fun... but last minute) I want that cake. I'm apparently the lone dissenter who doesn't love the Wolverine cake. He's supposed to be short! And stocky! Not all lithe. Wolverine is not pretty, bub.

As a native-born Texan, I would like to note that John is completely correct! Our state IS out to kill every poor soul that crosses the state line. (John, have you ever heard the song "The Devil Made Texas"? I think you would agree with it.) On a side note, the cakes are lovely.

Jon,I'm a Texan, via relocation to Austin 20 years ago, and I'm not hating on you. Of course, I read the posts about your Dallas experience during your World Tour so I understand the facetiousness of the theme of your post. However, for those who don't get the joke, *yelling* CLICK ON THE LINK "yearns for my death" in the first paragraph of today's post!

Im from Wacko... excuse me, Waco, Texas. There were some amazing cakes there that day. Those who were wanting to know where all the boots and cowboy hats and stuff are at, will need to check out The North Texas Cake and Sugar Art show just north of DFW, where this years theme is Texas. :)

I have to say I was sad that almost all the trolls were asleep under their bridges today. I was expecting much more righteous indignation (which is always fun to watch!) and vociferous state-defending.

Be that as it may, the cakes are awesome and I am glad you're not dead!

PS: Watched "The Rocketeer" and IMMEDIATELY thought of you when I saw it in the channel guide. :) I want a helmet cake to commemorate when I get my living room decorated. I'll need to bank carbs so I can enjoy it. LOL

I hope you'll reconsider your fear of Texas. Texas is not out to kill you. Just small portions of Texas are. Unfortunately, since we're so big, those small portions are still larger than some states. So I'm not saying it isn't hazardous. Just... well, okay, maybe you should stay away. :)

I have to say, though, I don't think the biggest risk of this post was taunting Texans. You just pissed off a whole bunch of Canadians by taking Wolverine away from them! So watch out for Mounties!

John, John, John, please remember, DALLAS tried to kill you, not Austin. We are much more laid back in Austin. That's why it would be safe for you to come to such an awesome cake show. How could you miss coming to see such amazing cakes? That Day of the Dead cake is impressive. (But did you notice it's mostly the Texans who have appreciated it?)

Hopefully your comments have revealed that Texans have a great sense of humor and that the overwhelming majority of us would not ever in the least want you to relive your near death experience here. I love these cakes and your blog that brings beauties like these as well as hilarious wrecks to us day after day!!

Hummm ~ Seems John was sick before he got to Texas,and Texas saved him! First by kindly hiting him over his head with a sink to get his attention,then finding that another state had infecteded him with some dreadful something..

One of the funniest posts ever! Oh John, poor John. You're right--stay out of Texas!

Being from Oklahoma and now living in New Mexico, my anti-Texas bias is both lifelong and intense, making your jokes even more hysterically satisfying. Really, truly, brilliant. Thanks for the great laughs!

Anonymous @ 11:18am - go to Kimpberly Chapman's site http://kimberlychapman.com/crafts/cakes/cakegallery.html and enlarge the piccies of Wolvie, and you can read the entire text. Clearly she is a woman after my own heart :D

This Dallas girl's got your back. This city is pretty merciless to the unexpecting! Heck, we've managed to kill both a president and a superbowl, so count yourself lucky to have survived! However please don't avoid the whole state in future trips - just Dallas. San Antonio and Austin are far prettier anyway. :) Though if you do dare the big D I'm sure we can wrestle up a wreckie protection squad for your time here!

Though Texas is not trying to kill me, since I live in Austin, the cake show (That Takes the Cake) did actually kill my cake. A breeze hit the hall when the doors were opened, the partition curtain fell over, and the metal pipe smashed my poor little Japanese Garden flat. Sad, sad day. Fortunately, the judges had already seen it, and it won 2nd place in the Adult Sculpted category...posthumously... It still tasted yummy, though. :)

I don't think you understand. Those of us who live in Texas have spent years building up an immunity; that's how we're able to go about our daily lives in safety. We would be completely vulnerable, though, to (say) Australia's murderous tendencies.

Just sitting down to read my weekend blogs here from Dallas, Texas.... wait a minute- Oh sorry I just heard the zombies outside rustling in the bushes. I've got to go get my assault rifles and pistols that hide in the kitchen...Ok, I'm back- Texas isn't hostile, it's just- wait a second- I reckon I hear a wild armadillo being rastled by a zombie- Let me go get a handle on the situation....

Poor armadillo- I reckon it did nothing to provoke that zombie- but it IS allergy season where even the zombies are prone to some crankiness due to sinus infections.

Anyway, as I was saying- I reckon if you try to come back to Texas another time, those danged zombies will get you for all the anti-texas rhetoric that varmits like you spread all over the internets.

Impressive cakes, more impressive comments! Based on most Texans I know, I was expecting a full-on freak out "defending the honor" of their precious state! But somehow, most of them got the joke. I suspect this is the work of a PR firm hired by the state, and not the comments of actual Texans. ;)

I do know some cool Texans though. Few of them are native, however, so draw your own conclusions from that. :)

Don't be lulled in by these nice people trying to assure you Texas isn't going to kill you. I've been there and I can assure you.1. The people in Texas are wonderful people.2. The state of Texas tries to kill any non-Texan that crosses its borders.Last time I went it was baseball-size hail, time before that a blizzard (in TEXAS?!?!?!), then there was trying to drive through Dallas the Friday before Christmas. So please all you wonderful Texans come visit us, 'cuz I'm not sure I'm brave enough to go back.

I have lived in Texas for over 30 years and it has failed to kill me. Not that it hasn't tried, mind you, but I figured if it hasn't by now it'll grudgingly give up. I may be wrong, we are entering angry bird-flu season here.

As a long time fan and one of the ones who sat in the front row at your stop in Austin, I humbly say "Thank you" for not cancelling the stop after your awful stay in Dallas (when last I went up there, I got trapped in an ice/snow storm).I hope all is forgiven and you don't skip us on the next tour (I have a seat reserved)!

By the way - these cakes were just beautiful and can't wait for next year's Rennaisance theme!

Duuuuuude. Born and raised in Texas (with a sense of humor, which is fortunate, since we all have massive arsenals at our disposal, what being from Texas and all - if there's anything Texas has massive amounts of, it's guns and allergens...and inexplicably large food, including giant deep-fried donuts).

The post was hilarious, and the cakes looked amazing. I think it is highly unfortunate that Texas has tried repeatedly to kill you, john (the hubby of JEN). To quote my favorite astronaught, "I didn't do it".

Just want to say that the Mushroom entry was not cake. It's cookies. The centers of the flowers, stone steps, the ivy leaves, tree stump house and fungus roof, the 10" base and the 6" round mushroom caps, as well as the additional stones are all cookies! As for weird, I am from Texas, do not live in Austin, and you know, everybody has a different idea of what an art piece is. There were some gorgeous day of the dead cookies next to my entry. My idea was this - every year I've been to the competition I see the really pretty and well done cut out cookies, but no one takes it to the next level and that, to me, is what competition is about. So, I tried thinking outside the box and I guess it worked because I took first place with that entry (my first time ever competing). So, maybe the unimpressed will be a little more impressed to learn that they are cookies - sugar cookies at that, from a real recipe, not a structure cookie recipe.

I am happy I can see SOME of my fellow Texans have a good sense of humor. ^^ I did look again and it was Dallas that tried to kill you, eh? Yeah... Dallas is pretty bipolar that way. I live about 2 and a half hours away from it and I've never had a problem.

I think my favorite cake on this is the first one. The imagery is just so...beautiful. ^^

And, once again, Wolverine is Canadian. I have one Canadian friend who is very upset about this mix up ;P (j/k)

Ok, I love your posts...no I mean really LOVE your posts. They totally crack me up. BUT...I am from Texas and although Austin is our capital in no way do I consider the people of Austin to be our (Texas') representatives. I am from San Antonio and I can guarantee you that we do love bakers. (gotta have our sweet bread and cakes n stuff) Also I am SURE that no one here wants to kill you. You'll find the people from Texas (excluding Austin, again cause some of them can be weird folks!) are some of the nicest people in the country! Take another trip down, but this time come to San Antonio and we will prove to you how great this state can be! Love ya for all you do to make us smile! Have a good day ya'll!

the death one was stunning! I'm living in Texas ( notice I didnt' say "I'm a Texan.") and after a couple of years here you figure out that's for Dios de la Muertos. :-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

wv: datiess: that datiess is in November when we celebrate Dios de la Muertos.

John, Those Texans that hate you need to lighten up. My daddy was born and raised in Texas and I was raised here and still live here. Not that I've lived in other states, but do Floridians proudly display their state seal, the name of their state or other symbols that represent their state on lawn ornaments like Texans? Seriously, if you live long enough once you cross the state line, look around!

I read your post about John and got teary. So sorry you had such troubles in Texas, if it makes you feel any better my Aunt lives in Texas but I hate the state as well. Not entirely sure why but I was a kid when I visited so it must have traumatized me somehow. I love Cake Wrecks but am kind of a lurker. I'm not good with the comments. But I had to let you know that I am glad you guys are okay. And I hate Texas. I do think I made my point, right?

Posted a comment earlier but forgot to mention that the "death" cake, in case you didn't know the history, is referncing La Dia De Los Muertes. Which in Hispanic culture, of which there is plenty of here, LOL! is about celebrating life. It is a day of respect to those loved ones who have passed. It is really fascinating and the graphics and symbols related to them are very similar to that on the cake. Thanks for posting those amazing cakes for us! Such beautiful works of art and talent!

As a non-native Texan who married a native Texan and is thereby NEVER going to move out of the state, I will say that I've seen zombies in Austin. WAIT! That was THE Zombies...and I HEARD them in Austin.

Anyway. LOVE the calavera/Dia de lost Muertos cake. And for those of you who think the skull on the cake is "weird", it's a Texas thing. Ok, it's a Tex-Mex thing. It's part of what makes Texas, especially south Texas, unique.

I thought one texas joke - ok, but then over and over. Really? Sorry you had rough trips to TX, but the jokes lost their humor after the (lost count) times you slammed the state. If your point was to express your displeasure - mission accomplished. I guess I like this blog less though - now.

I can't believe y'all thought you could get a rise out of us Texans!! We're the friendliest bunch of cake-wrecks lovers you'll ever meet! Having a sense of humor is a requirement to live in Texas. Just quit telling people about the zombies! They're a surprise....

I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and I could never live anywhere else. Visit other places, sure, but Texas is my home. And for once, it's refreshing to have someone make fun of us for something other than cowboy boots, guns, armadillos, and "y'all." :D

As a former Texan and a cake decorator hobbiest...I am NOT offended by any of your comments. :) Just to warn ya though...they have the death penalty down there and they use it. :D :D (As Ron White would say)All of these cakes are AMAZING! I think it's a toss up between the first one and the african themed cake. The artestry is amazing!And don't stop blogging you guys! The world needs a sense of humor!!! :)

This Texas household <3's you guys! I still crack up when I remember the Christmas before last when I was given the Cakewrecks book. I was helping our nieces with something and we kept hearing my hubby burst out laughing from the other side of the room. He was off on his own, reading the book and laughing out loud...loudly. The inlaws didn't get it and thought he had lost his mind! ;)

For the record, I'm pretty sure Jen/John know Wolverine is Canadian. And I'm going to guess they probably knew that there are two references to said Canadian heritage on the cake.

The thing about him being in Texas and about to kill them is a joke, folks.

If anyone should be upset by that joke it'd be this Canadian living in Texas who made the cake, and I thought it was funny. It probably is trying to kill them, mostly because it's pissed that it looks so unlike Hugh Jackman and just wants to go stabby on anybody it can.

Except it can't, on account of being destroyed, except the head which is in my cabinet. Muahahaha. Heal from that, suckah!

"so young, so angry- darn that rap music!" ahhhh!, love a good Robin Williams quote! :) I have been following you all (the site, not as people, stalking is bad!) since the beginning (again, of the site), and as always, you all are my favorite! Keep up the great work! :)

WV:"tedgillo"- a gigolo named ted :) OR an armadillo named Ted...can't decide.

Ok, I'm a born and raised Texan and I just almost peed my pants laughing!! The pics on CW are funny, but none of it would be worth looking at if it weren't for you and Jen and the jokes ya'll make. Man I haven't laughed this hard in a while...

Hey, the one and only time I ever visited the Great State of Texas (Houston, to be exact), the big-name-national-brand-expensive just-down-the-road-from-the-Astrodome hotel hosting our conference was, literally, the pits, with broken elevators (ever have to climb out the emergency escape door in one?) and large colonies of fire ants in some of the rooms. The last night we were there, it rained so hard it could've drowned ducks - our room (second floor in a three-story section) had a genuine waterfall down the wall behind the beds into the electric sockets... and the staff didn't understand why we'd want to move out of the room, as we sloshed about. Some of the first-floor corridors were awash in a foot of water, with mattresses and towels floating in it (honest! people were using them for stepping stones). So I can understand John's (HoJ) trepidation. The people were wonderful/friendly/kind, but the weather was bizarre!

I understand about Texas. South Dakota has tried to do me in several times. This is especially inconvenient since I live in Minnesota. I have formed special non-aggression treaties with Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and Canada so that I may move freely around the region for the most part. But I stay clear of South Dakota.

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